MinuteClinic, UT Medicine San Antonio form clinical affiliation

By Antoinette Alexander

WOONSOCKET, R.I. and SAN ANTONIO — CVS Caremark’s MinuteClinic and UT Medicine San Antonio, the academic medical practice of the School of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, have entered into a clinical affiliation to enhance access to healthcare services in the region.

Under the agreement, UT Medicine physicians will serve as medical directors for MinuteClinic locations in San Antonio. In addition, MinuteClinic and UT Medicine will collaborate on patient education and disease management initiatives, and will inform patients of the services each offer. UT Medicine will accept patients who need a level of care that is not provided at MinuteClinic.

"We look forward to building on UT Medicine's more than 40 years of serving patients by helping to expand access to high-quality, affordable healthcare services in the San Antonio community," stated Andrew Sussman, president of MinuteClinic and SVP/associate chief medical officer of CVS Caremark. "Through this agreement, we will collaborate with UT Medicine on information connectivity and a broad range of programs to provide the highest level of care at the lowest overall cost."

"We are very excited to be partnering with MinuteClinic. It is recognized that ready access to quality care and preventive services are essential for the wellbeing of our community. Our association brings those key elements of the MinuteClinic concept together with our expertise in comprehensive primary care and in the full spectrum of medical and surgical specialties," stated Carlos Rosende, executive director of UT Medicine and vice dean for clinical affairs at the School of Medicine. "Our collaboration will extend superb medical care to a greater segment of our population."

MinuteClinic and UT Medicine will begin to work toward fully integrating electronic medical record systems to streamline communication around all aspects of their patients' care. With patient permission, MinuteClinic will electronically share medical histories and visit summaries with UT Medicine locations. In the meantime, MinuteClinic will continue its standard practice of sending patient visit summaries to primary care providers via fax or mail, typically within 24 hours.